Automatic weighing-machine.



No. 788,829. PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

J. HIGKEY.

AUTOMATIC WE'IGHING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2,1902.

4 SHEETS-SHEETL WITNESSES. I INVENTOR ATTORNEY No. 788,829. PATENTED MAY2, 1905.

J. HIOKEY.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2, 1902.

4 SHEBTS-SKEET 2.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR ATTORN EY No. 788,829. PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

J. HICKEY.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2, 1902.

4 SHEETBSHBBT 3.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR ATTORNEY No. 788,829. PATENTED MAY 2, 1905. J.vHICKEY.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 2, 1902.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

l m l INVENTOR 5/ BY E W ATTORNEY UNITED STATES Patented May 2, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN HICKEY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF FIFTY-FIVE ONE-HUNDREDTHSTO THE AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL CHEMICAL COMPANY, OF NEIV LONDON,CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 788,829, dated May 2,1905. Application filed June 2,1902. $erial No. 109,918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN HICKEY, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in AutomaticWeighing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machines for automatically weighing granular,pulverulent, and analogous materials adapted to flow in astream from ahopper or bin, and has for one of its objects to provide improvedvalvular mechanism at the bin or hopper for controlling the flow ofmaterial and also improved trip connections between the valve mechanismand the beam of an ordinary platform weighing-scale whereby the'valvemechanism may be conveniently adjusted or set to permit the stream ofmaterial to flow to a bag or other receptacle and whereby the valvemechanism may be automatically actuated to cut off said flow effectuallyat any predetermined time by the action of thescale-beam.

Another object of my invention is to provide means whereby the openingor setting of the valve mechanism will effect simultaneously andautomatically an operative connection between the scale-beam and thetrip mechanism by which the valve mechanism is supported and alsoreleased.

To these main ends and others, which will hereinafter appear, myinvention consists in the various features of construction andcombinations of devices hereinafter more fully described, andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front View showing thescale, the delivery end of a bin, and my improved valve mechanism andtrip mechanism connected therewith. Fig. 2 is a front elevation, on anenlarged scale, of the valve mechanism and the hopper with which it isused. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of Fig. 2, but showingmore of the upper portion of the hopper and of the valve-stems. Fig. Ais a side elevation of a part of the main bin or hopper and of thehopper containing the valve mechanism. Fig.

5 is an enlarged front view of the trip mechanism and a portion of thescale. Fig. 6 is a side or face view of the same, but omitting thescale.

In the various views the same part will be found designated by the samenumeral of reference.

1 is the bottom or delivery end of a bin, and 2 is a hopper bolted orsecured at the lower end of the bin. The hopper comprises asharplyinclined bottom or wall 3 and angular sides 4. At the front ofthe hopper and at each side thereof is a guideway 5, preferably securedto the bottom 3 and extending upwardly therefrom. Each said guideway isformed or provided with three parallel grooves 6 to accommodate the endsof three slides, gates, or valves 7, 8, and 9.

About midway the length of each slide or valve is secured the lower endof a stem or rod. The stem or rod attached to the valve or slide 7 ismarked 10, the one connected with the valve 8 is marked 11, and the oneconnected with the valve 9 is marked 12. Attached to the upper ends ofthe valve-stems 10 and ll are chains or flexible connections (marked,

respectively, 13 and 14,) which extend to the trip mechanism to bepresently described.

To the middle valve-stem 11 is secured a handle 15, which is formed withan eye 16, that surrounds said stem, and is perforated and threaded forthe passage of a binding-screw 17 by which the handle is secured to thestem. Forward of the eye 16 the handle is also provided with aperforated boss or eye 18, through which the valve-stem 10 passesfreely. Above said handle the valve-stem 10 is provided with a collar19, which is held in place by a binding screw or bolt 20. The saidcollar and the said handle may be adjusted on their respective rods toany desired positions, so as to determine or regulate the relative timesor extents of opening and closing of the valves 7 and 8, as willhereinafter more fully appear.

The upper ends of the valve-stems are supported and guided in aperforated plate or bracket 21, which may be secured to an upright wallor plate 22 and which is sustained by braces 23. Each valve-stem abovesaid plate or bracket 21 is provided with an adjustable collar 24, heldby a set-screw, for limiting the descent or downward movement of saidstem, and, if desired, said stem may be provided beneath said collarwith a rubber washer 26 to cushion or deaden the stoppage of the valveand valve-stem.

The valve or slide 9 is relatively fixed-that is to say, when theapparatus is in operation the said valve or slide has no movement; butit may be moved or adjusted up and down, so as to increase the distanceor space between its lower edge and the inclined bottom or wall 3 of thehopper. Said valve, however, is never so adjusted as to close the hopperat this 10- cality. The lower edge of said valve by its distance fromthe bottom '3 determines the size of the mouth of the hopper, and henceby adjusting the valve up or down this mouth or opening may be enlargedor reduced, so as to regulate the flow of material. This adjustment iseffected by loosening the bolt and moving the collar up or down, as maybe necessary, and then retightening the collar in its adjusted position.It will also be observed in Fig. 3 that the lower edge of the middlevalve 8 when in normal position does not touch the bottom 3, butterminates a slight distance above the same, which in practice may bethree-fourths of an inch, more or less. This space may be increased ordiminished by adjustment of the valve-stem 11that is to say, if thespace between the lower edge of the valve 8 and the bottom 3 is to beincreased the collar is loosened, the valve-stem raised the requireddistance, and the collar then retightened at a point lower down on thestem, and, on the other hand, if the valve is to be brought nearer thebottom 3 the stem is permitted to move down slightly and the collar thentightened again at a point nearer the upper end of the stem. In anycase. however, I prefer that the bottom of the valve should not touchthe bottom of the hopper.

The lower end of the valve 7 or final closing valve to the hopper doesnot contact at its lower edge with the floor or bottom 3 of the hopper,but is arranged to slide in front of the forward lowermost edge of thebottom 3, as illustrated at Fig. 3, and which enables a more perfect cutoff or stoppage of the flow of material than is possible where the valvecomes down on the face of the bottom 3, although in so far as somefeatures of my invention are concerned the valve 7 maybe arranged toclose in the manner last described. The valves 7 and 8 may be providedat their lower portions with strips or bars of metal 27 to increasetheir weight and cause them to close more promptly.

The chain 13, connected to the upper end of the valve-stem 10, passes upover a pulley 28, mounted on a beam 29, thence across over a pulley 30,and thence down to an arm or lever 31, to the lower end of which it ispivotally connected through a link 32. The chain 14, connected to thestem 11, likewise passes over separate pulleys 28 and 30 and connects,through a link 32, with an arm or lever 33. The arms or levers 31 and 33are pivotally supported at their upper ends by a pin 34, mounted inbearings at the upper end of an upright plate 35, which is slotted at 36for the accommodation of said levers. The said plate is supported by aright-angle bracket '36, which is secured at one end to the fixedhorizontal arm of the scale.

The lower ends of the arms 31 and 33 are provided with hooks or catches37 and 37", which are pivoted at 38 and play each between two stops 39,formed on each lever. The free ends of the hooks or catches 37 and 37are adapted to pass through openings 40 in the plate 35 and cooperate,respectively, with the shorter arms of trip-levers 41 and 42, pivotedindependently on a pin 43, supported in a bracket 44, bolted to theplate 35 and the bracket 36.

The longer arms of the levers 41 and 42 coact, respectively, with stepsor abutments 45 and 46 on one end of atrip-plate 47, which is pivoted at48 at near the lower end of the plate 35, the opposite and longer end ofsaid trip-plate extending over to and above the free end of thescale-beam 49. The stops or abutments 45 and 46 are preferably made inthe form of screws or bolts, so that they may be readily adjusted totime the let-off or tripping action of the levers 41 and 42, and hencethe times of closing of the valves. It will be seen that the steps orabutments 45 and 46 constitute means for holding the valves open, and asa matter of convenience and simple construction they are mounted on thetripplates so that when the latter are actuated they serve to trip ordisengage these holding means from their respective levers 41 and 42.Depending from the pivot or axis 48 of the trip-plate 47 is a screw-rod50. having an adjustable weight 51 for purposes which will hereinafterappear. Preferably the trip mechanism is contained within a box orcasing 52.

Supported upon the platform of the scale is a framework comprising a bedand twopart or telescopic uprights or standards 53, which at their upperends support a scalehopper 54. This hopper 54 may be held at any desiredheight, according to the length of the bag or receptacle to be filled,owing to the telescopic construction of the standards, and when thelatter have been adjusted their parts are held firmly in position byset-screws The bottom of the scale-hopper has aflange 56, which isslightly upturned, and the bag to be filled is tucked around this flangeand partially supported thereby, but is held mainly by hooks 57 on theside of the hopper.

In operation the valve 9 is first set or addownward movements of thevalves 7 and 8.

Furthermore, the handle 15 and collar 19 are likewise relativelyadjusted to determine the extent of upward or opening movement of thevalve 8 before the beginning of the upward or opening movement of thevalve 7, which it controls, in a measure, through the handle 15.Moreover, the screw stops or abutments 45 and 46 are also adjustedrelatively to the levers 41 and 42 and valves 7 and 8, so as to enablethe valves to be tripped or released at different-times and one afterthe other at predetermined periods. The sliding weight 58 on thescale-beam havingalso been adjusted to permit the scale-beam to risewhen a predetermined weight of material has flowed into the bag orreceptacle, the attendant or operator will then by means of the handlelift the valve 8 until the hub or eye 18 of the handle strikes thecollar 19 and then by a further movement lift the valve 7 the requireddistance to open the hopper 4. In lifting the valve 8 and its stem 11the chain 14 is slackened, the arm 33 swings downwardly, and the hook 37moves forwardly through the plate 35 to cooperate with the lever 42,which rests against a back-stop formed by its. supportingbracket. Inthis movement of the hook its nose or beveled end first strikes theshort arm of the lever 42 and then, vibrating about its pivot 38, ridesup over said short arm, and at the completion of the forward movement ofthe hook 37 the shouldered part thereof engages the outer side of theshorter arm of the lever and swings the free end of the longer arm ofsaid lever over to press against said screw. Subsequently when in thecontinued movement of the handle 15 the valve 7 andits stem 10 arelifted thechain 13 is slackened, the arm 31 drops, and its hook 37,swinging through the opening in the plate 35, acts similarly upon thelever 41 and finally catches the shorter arm of said lever and causesthelonger arm thereof to bear against the screw 45 on the trip-plate 47,which latter at its opposite end then bears upon the upper side of thescale-beam 49. In this way thevalves 7 and 8 are locked or held in theirupper or open positions, the gravity of the valves, acting through thechains and the arms 31 and 33 and the hooks 37 and 37 causing the longerarms of the levers 41 and 42 to press against the screws or abutments 45and 46, which hold said valves in their uplifted positions.

It will be observed from the foregoing that when the attendant lifts thevalves to the required extent they become automatically locked or heldin their lifted positions.

\Vhen, now, the bag or other receptacle has received a sufiicient weightof material from the hopper to cause a vibration of the scalebeam, thetrip mechanism will be actuated by the latter and thevalves will becaused to descend one after the other to close the hopper gradually andstop the flow of material, the valve 8 being released first and thevalve 7 subsequently. When the scale-beam rises, it causes the inner armof the trip-plate 47 to ascend with it and the outer arm, carrying thescrews 45 and 46, to descend or move away from the trip and holdinglevers 41 and 42; but the screw 46 being shorter or having lessprojection than the screw 45, as shownin Fig. 6, it will in consequencerelease the lever 42 before the screw 45 will release the lever 41, andhence the lever 42 will trip first and swing to the position shown atFig. 5, and simultaneously the valve 8 will descend and pull the arm 33up to the position shown in Fig. 5, the descent of the valve beingarrested by the collar 24 and its interposed cushion 26, as shown atFig. 3. As the scalebeam continues to rise the screw 45 will at asubsequent and proper time release the lever 41, and the moment this iseffected said lever will fly to a position similar to that shown at Fig.5 and the arm 31 will swing up to a position similar to that occupied bythe arm 33 in Fig. 5 and the lower end of the valve 7 will drop past theedge of the bottom 3 and stop the flow of material from the hopper, allas indicated at Fig. 3, wherein the valves are shown in the positionswhich they occupy when the flow of material is cut ofl'. In Fig. 1 thevalves are shown in their raised positions and the holding and trippingdevices in operative position to maintain the valves raised.

The relatively fixed door or valve 9 not only determines the size of themouth of the hopper 2, but it acts to relieve the valves 7 and 8 of thepressure of the flowing material,said valves at the time when thematerial is flowing being raised so that their lower edges are about inline with the lower edge of the fixed door or valve. Therefore one ofthe main purposes of the latter is to prevent the material from pressingagainst either of the valves 7 or 8, and which, if permitted, wouldretard the closing or downward movement of said valve, which would heobjectionable, since it is essential that the valve close with theutmost freedom and celerity when tripped by the scale-beam, so as not topermit an excessive or undue flow of material from the hopper. By thepresent construction the valves cut off the stream of flowing materialgradually, but promptly, and hence the automatic weighing may beaccomplished with exactness.

The valve 8 is preferably not permitted to close all the way, and thussuddenly check the flow of material, but only to nearly close, so as toreduce the size of the stream passing at said valve, and thus make itcomparatively easy for the valve 7 to completely stop the flow when itdescends subsequently.

When the filled bag or receptacle is removed from the scales, the beam49 will descend in consequence of the weight 58, and the tripplate 47will vibrate back to normal horizontal position on account of thepresence of the adjustable depending weight 51, which will maintain saidplate in proper position to enable the levers 41 and 42 to engage thescrewstops 45 and 46 when the valves are again lifted or reset. The saidweight 51, which in practice is about one I pound, serves also anotheruseful purposenamel,v, it delays or retards slightly the tripping off ofthe second lever and which might otherwise occur prematurely by reasonof strain or shock. As said weight at the tripping of the first lever isswinging upwardly from the normal vertical position it adds a slightresistance to the rise of the scale-beam and acts to steady and retardthe further movement 'of the trip-plate. If the retardation is too greator the resistance too much, the weight is screwed up nearer the axis ofthe plate; but if the resistance is not enough the weight is screweddown. At Fig. 5 the view represents the scale-beam as having partiallyrisen and vibrated the tripplate 47 and caused the weight 51 to ascend,

and thus add resistance to the beam and the trip-plate, as and for thepurposes above stated.

It will be seen that by my invention 1 have provided valve mechanism andholding and tripping mechanisms which may be applied to or connectedwith any suitable bin or hopper and any ordinary platform-scale, andthat, excepting for the setting of the valves, my apparatus is adaptedto work in an automatic manner.

The levers 41 and 42 are pivoted so as to swing freely, and hence whenthey have been vibrated upwardly by the hooks in the closing movementsof the valves they immediately vibrate backwardly again by their gravitywhen the hooks become disengaged therefrom, and the lower ends of thelonger arms of said levers stand between the screw-abutments on thetrip-plate and the pivot of the latter and in proper positions to swingoutwardly and press against said screw-abut ments when their shorterarms are next engaged by the pivoted hooks on the arms 31 and 33.Suitable stops are provided for limiting the aforesaid return movementsof .the levers 41 and 42 after the tripping action, and hence when thebeveled end of either hook strikes the shorter arm of either lever itwill cause the hook to rise up over said shorter arm until the shoulderof thehook drops over and engages the opposite side of said arm, thehook being pivoted to permit of this independent movement. When thisengagement between the hook and thelever has been effected and theattendant releases the valvelifting handle, the gravity of the valvewill cause a slight backward movement of the hook and a forward movementof the longer arm of the lever to swing it over into contact with itsassociated screw or abutment. The levers 41 and 42 return to normalposition before the bag is removed from the scale. When the bag isremoved, the trip-plate vibrates back to normal position and the screwsare brought to a position to arrest said levers when the Valves areagain raised and locked up. i

The trip-plate, its pivot, and the depending weight-carrying rod allmove together.

Various changes in detail construction and arrangement may be madewithout departing from the gist of my invention, and in so far as theholding and tripping mechanism is concerned the same may be employed inconnection with valves used in apipe system for measuring and weighingliquids instead of solids and in which the valve mechanism is differentin detail construction and arrangement.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, of a gravity-valve atthe hopper, means for raising same, and means for holding and trippingsaid valve, comprising a swinging arm provided with a hook, flexibleconnections extending from said arm to said valve, a lever adapted to beengaged by said hook, and a pivoted trip-plate adapted to coact withsaid lever and hold it in engagement with-said hook until said plate isvibrated by the scale-beam.

2. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beanna gravity-valve at thehopper, a pivoted arm flexibly connected with said valve, a hook pivotedon said arm, a lever adapted to be engaged by said hook, and a pivotedtrip-plate provided with an abutment to hold said lever against thegravitational tendency of said valve and adapted to be actuated by therise of the scale-beam.

3. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, of a gravity-valve atsaid hopper, an arm connected to said valve, a pivoted hook on said arm,a lever adapted to be engaged by said hook, a pivoted trip-plateprovided with an abutment to hold said lever against the gravitationaltendency of said valve, and'independent means for restoring thetrip-plate to normal position after it has been actuated by theoperation of the scale beam.

4. The combination with a scale-beam and a source of supply of materialto be weighed, a valve for controlling the How of material therefrom,means for holding said valve open,

trip mechanism, comprising a trip-plate adapted to be actuated by thescale-beam, and

means other than friction for retarding the action of the trip-plateduring the releasing movement of the scale-beam.

5. The combination with a scale-beam and a source of supply of materialto be weighed, a valve for controlling the flow of material therefrom,means for holding said valve open, trip mechanism, comprising atrip-plate adapted to be actuated by the scale-beam, and a weightconnected with the trip-plate that is normally-in its lowest positionand is adapted to rise when the trip-plate is actuated by thescale-beam.

6. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, of a gravity-valve atsaid hopper, means for holding said valve when raised, trip mechanismcomprising a trip plate which is adapted to be actuated by thescale-beam, and means other than friction for retarding the action ofthe trip-plate during the releasing movement of the scale-beam.

' 7. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, of a valve at saidhopper, means for holding said valve when raised, trip mechanismcomprising a trip-plate which is continually in contact with and adaptedto be actuated by the scale-beam, and means for maintaining thetrip-plate in engagement with the scale-beam and delaying the action ofthe tripping mechanism during the rise of the scalebeam.

' 8. The combination with a hopper and the scale-beam of aplatform-scale, of a valve at said hopper, means for holding said valvewhen raised, trip mechanism comprisinga pivoted trip-plate which isadapted to be actuated by the scale-beam, and adepending weightconnected to said trip-plate for causing the latter to vibrate with thescale-beam when the filled receptacle is removed from the platform.

9. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, of a valve at saidhopper, means for holding said valve when raised, trip mechanismcomprising a trip-plate which is adapted to be actuated by thescale-beam, and an adjustable weight normally in vertical position andadapted to rise when the trip-plate is actuated by the scale-beam.

10. The combination with a scale, a hopper, a pair of valves controllingthe flow from the hopper, an independent holding means for each of saidvalves and flexibly connected thereto, and a tripping device operable bythe scale and common to both valves, but constructed and arranged torelease said valves one after the other.

11. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, of a pair of valvesat said hopper,

an independent holding means for each of said of a hopper arranged abovesaid scale, two

valves at said hopper adapted to be raised and lowered, a pivotedtripping-plate adapted to be vibrated by the scale-beam, and meansbetween said trip-plate and said valves for looking the valves in theirraised positions and adapted to unlock and release said valves one afterthe other when the trip-plate is vibrated by the rise of the scale-beam.

13. The combination with a hopper and a pair of gravity-valves thereat,of a scale-beam, a tripping device at the latter provided with variablelet-ofl' devices, and independent means for holding said valves in theirraised posi tions, said means including levers which cooperate with saidvariable let-off devices and which when the tripping device is actuatedrelease the valves one after the other.

14. The combination with a hopper and a pair of valves, a scale-beam, apair of pivoted arms, flexible connections between said arms and saidvalves, a hook on each of said arms, a lever adapted to be engaged byeach of said hooks, and a pivoted trip-plate adapted to cooperate withsaid scalebeam and provided with adjustable abutments for said levers,whereby the valves may be held in their raised positions andautomatically tripped one ahead of the other.

15. The combination with a hopper,of a pair of valves having each avalve-stem, a handle adjustably secured to one of said stems and anadjustable collar or abutment on the other valve-stem adapted to beacted on by said handle.

16. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, of a pair of valveshaving each a valve-stem, a handle adjustably secured to one of saidstems, an adjustable collar or abutment on the other valve-stem adaptedto be acted on by said handle, and holding and tripping devicesconnected with said valve-stems and said scale-beam.

17. The combination of a hopper, a scale-. beam, valves controlling acommon outlet, means for holding said valves and tripping themsuccessively, and means other than friction for retarding or delayingthe tripping action. v

18. The combination of a hopper, a scalebeam, valves controlling acommon outlet, means for holding said valves including a tripping devicefor tripping said valves successively, said tripping device beingadapted to be vibrated by the scale-beam, and means for retaining thetripping device in operative relation with the holding means andscale-beam during the successive tripping actions.

19. The combination of a hopper, a scalebeam, valves controlling acommon outlet, means for holding said valves including a tripping devicefor tripping said valves successively, said tripping device beingadapted to be vibrated by said scale-beam, and means for delaying orretarding the action of the trip- IIO ping device and for restoring itautomatically to its normal position at the completion of the trippingactions.

20. The combination with a hopper and a scale beam, successively actingvalves and mechanism for holding the valves open, including atripping-plate for both valves, said tripping-plate being in the path ofbut unconnected with the scale-beam.

21. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, valves, means tohold said valves open comprising a tripping-plate in the path of, butunconnected with the scale-beam and means for preventing one of thevalves from closing entirely when tripped,

22. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, of valves, means forpreventing one of said valves from closing entirely, a valve-holdingtripping-plate, means between the valves and said scale-beam, butunconnected with the latter and directly actuated by contact thereof.

23. The combination with a hopper having grooved guideways, valves orgates sliding therein, valve-stems, means for lifting said valvesmanually. chains extending from said valve-stems to pivotedhook-carrying arms, holding levers to cooperate with said hooks, atripping-plate cooperating with said levers, a pendent weightcooperating with said tripplate, and a platform-scale having its beamarranged to cooperate with said trip-plate.

24. The combination with a scale-beam, of a valve, means for opening thesame, and means for holding and tripping said valve, comprising apivoted arm provided with a pivoted hook, flexible connections extendingfrom said arm to said valve, a lever adapted to be engaged at one end bysaid hook, and a pivoted trip-plate adapted to coact with the other endof said lever and with said scale-beam.

25. The combination with a scale-beam, of a valve, a pivoted armflexibly connected with said valve, a hook pivoted on said arm, a leveradapted to be engaged by said hook, and a pivoted trip-plate providedwith an abutment and adapted to be actuated by the rise of thescalebeam.

26. The combination with a scale-beam, of a valve, an arm connected tosaid valve, a pivoted hook on said arm, a lever adapted to be engaged bysaid hook, a pivoted trip-plate and independent means for automaticallyrestoring the trip-plate to normal position after it has been actuatedby the operation of the scalebeam.

27. The combination with a scale-beam, of a valve, means for holdingsaid valve open, trip mechanism comprising a trip-plate and adapted tobe actuated by the scale-beam, and means for retarding the action of thetrip-plate by automatically adding increasing resistance thereto and tothe scale-beam during the releasing movement of the scale-beam.

28. The combination with a scale-beam, of a pair of valves, means forholding said valves open, trip mechanism comprising a trip-plate whichis adapted to be actuated directly by the scale-beam, said trip-platebeing provided with means for releasing said valves one after the otherand means for maintaining the tripplate in engagement with thescale-beam and gradually increasing the resistance to movement thereof,thus delaying the action of the tripping mechanism during the continuedrise of the scale-beam after the first valve has been tripped.

29. The combination with a scale-imam, of a valve, means for holdingsaid valve open, tripping mechanism comprising a trip-plate and adaptedto be actuated by the scale-bean'l, and a pendulous weight connected tosaid tripplate.

30. The combination with a scale, of a valve, means for holding saidvalve open, tripping mechanism comprising a trip-plate which is adaptedto be actuated by a moving part of the scale, and a weight connectedwith said trip-plate that is normally in its lowest position, and isadapted to rise when the trip-plate is actuated.

31. The combination with a scale-bcam, of a pair of gravity-valves,independent mechanical devices for locking up each of said valves, and atripping device opposing the gravitational tendency of said valves andoperable by the scale-beam and common to both said valves butconstructed and arranged to release said valves one after the other.

32. The combination with a scale-beam, of a pair of gravity-valves, atripping device opposing the gravitational tendency of said valves andoperable by the scale-beam, and mechanical devices for locking saidvalves in their open positions connected with said tripping device andadapted to release said valves one after the other when the trippingdevice is actuated.

33. The combination of a pair of gravityvalves, a scale-beam, a trippingdevice at the scale-beam provided with variable let-oil. devices, andindependent means for holding said valves in their open positions, saidmeans including levers which through the weight of the valves pressagainst the said variable letoff devices and which when the trippingdevice is actuated release the valves one after the other.

3 The combination of a pair of valves, a scale-beam,a pair of pivotedarms, flexible connections between said arms and said valves, a hook oneach of said arms, a lever adapted to be engaged by each of said hooks,and a pivoted trip-plate adapted to cooperate with said scale-beam andprovided with adjustable abutments for said levers whereby the valvesmay be held in their open positions and automatieally tripped one aheadof the other.

35. The combination of a pair of valves placed one back of the other, astem for each valve, a handle attached to the stem of the inner valveand having an opening for the passage of the stem of the other valve,and a collar on the latter so arranged as to coact with said handleafter the valve having the handle has been opened a predetermineddistance, and thus enable the other of said valves to be openedbyafurther movement of such handle.

36. The combination of a hopper, a gravityvalve at said hopper, aseparable locking mechanism at said scale, a flexible connection betweensaid valve and said locking mechanism, the parts of said lockingmechanism being maintained in locking relationship by the weight of saidvalve when raised, and a scalebeam adapted to separate the parts of saidlocking mechanism and permit the valve to drop.

37. The combination of a hopper, a pair of gravity-valves at saidhopper, separable looking mechanism at said scale for each of saidvalves, aflexible connection between each said valve and its lockingmechanism, the parts of said locking mechanisms being maintained inlocking relationship by the weights of said valves when raised, meansfor releasing one of said valves before the other, and a scalebeamadapted to separate the parts of each said locking mechanism and thuspermit the valves to drop one after the other.

38. The combination of a platforn1scale, a hopper arranged above thesame, a gravityvalve at said hopper, a pivoted arm flexibly connected tosaid valve and carrying a pivoted hook, an upright lever pivoted betweenits ends and adapted to be engaged at its upper end by said hook, ahorizontally-arranged trip-plate adapted to be engaged by the lower endof said upright lever, said trip-plate being pivoted between its endsand resting at its inner end on the outer end of the scale-beam,

the construction and arrangement being such that when the valve israised, the various parts are held in locked relationship by the weightof the valve and until released and dropped by the rise of thescale-beam.

39. The combination of a platform-scale, a trip-plate adapted to beactuated by the scalebeam, a lever adapted to press against saidtripplate, a gravity-valve and connections between said valve and saidlever whereby the Weight of said valve maintains said lever pressedagainst said trip-plate.

40. The combination of a platform-scale, a horizontally-arrangedtrip-plate pivoted between its ends and adapted to be actuated directlyby the scale-beam, a vertically-arranged catch-lever also pivotedbetween its ends and adapted to press against an abutment on saidtrip-plate, a pivoted arm having a pivoted hook adapted to engage saidcatch-lever, a hopper, a gravity-valve, and flexible connections betweensaid valve and said pivoted arm.

41. The combination with ahopper, of a pair of gravity-valvesconstructed and arranged to open and close one after the other, aplatformscale, a horizontally-arranged pivoted tripplate 47 overlappingthe scale-beam and provided with variable let-ofi devices as 45, 40 anda pendulous weight attached to said tripplate, a pair of upright levers41, 42 pivoted between their ends, a pair of pivoted arms 31, 33carrying the pivoted hooks 87, 37, and flexible connections 13, 14extending to said valves.

Signed at Bufl'alo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, this15th day of May,

JOHN HICKEY. W'itnesses:

(JiEO. O. BINGHAM, SHEPARD KIMBERLY.

